Trousers hanger



Jan. 12, 1960 J. H; BATTS TROUSERS HANGER Filed Nov. 10, 1958 INVENTOR. JOHN h. BATTS BY 9A 20F) M A T TOR/VEYS Patent 2,920,801 TROUSERS HANGER JolniH. Batts, East Grand Rapids, Mich, assignor to John, Thomas Batts, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Michigan zhpplication November 10, 1958, Serial No. 772,988

' 2 Claims. c1. 223 -96) .This invention relates to garment hangers and more particularly to an improvement in the lateral clamp type of. garment hangers,,which provides a lateral, garment contacting surface having a substantially higher coefiicient .of friction than has heretofore been possible.

,J This 'application'is a continuation-in-part of co-pendingapplication Serial Number 666,104, filed June 17, ,1957,,-forGarment Holder With High Friction Surface, now Patent Number 2,866,583, granted December 30', 1958.. if x 7 Various types ofgarment hangers havebeen known for many years. Most of these hangers, whether of the type whichfit into a garment, such as that for a coat, or of ,thef t'ype over which a g'a r ment is draped, such as that used-for trousers, slacks, or ties, or of the type which grips one end" of the garment, such'as that commonly vused for hanging skirts, pants or slacks, depend solely upoirfriction betweenithe garmentand thesurface of .the hanger, to secure thegarment thereto. This causes a. substantial difficulty. Materials commonly used for thesehangers, such as wood ormetal, would seriously tdairiage the, garmentseither by tearing or by rapid wear .if the. surface were not smoothly finished. Smoothly finished surfaces, however, have a lowfcoeificient of frie- ,tion andthe garments have a' tendency to slide oifor awayfrom them i In the case of the lateral clamp type of hanger some attempt has been made to provide a surface with a high poemaem ,offriction by adding felt pads to the garrnentcontacting surfaces of the lateral clamp bars. While the 'coeflicient of friction of the garment contacting surfaceS'isfgenerally increased thereby, the pads'are relatively ineffective with garments comprising certain z typesjoff-fabries, such as those having a tightly woven, "slippery fiber, examplesof which are silk, rayon,rnylon and the like. Moreovenjregardless of the fabric involved, unless maximum compressive force is applied by the grip bafsYto the garment, i olting movement of the garment has a tendency to tear the fibers of the felt padsand to ftear the padslfrom the layer of adhesive binding the sa me'to the lateral clamp bars, thus shortening their life. In addition, whenever maximum compressive force is applied for asubstantial 'period of time, there is, a tendency to leave an impression of the felt pad onthe garment. j

f his invention solves these problems and does so in a manner having a number of advantages not heretofore obtainable from any known, lateral clamp'type, garment hanger construction. The invention provides a lateral clamp bar surface having such a high coefficient of frictionl that even under severe conditions of vibration or from between the lateral clamp bars.

This invention accomplishes this desirable result while providing a surface which willneither wear, mark nor cause' other physical injury to the surface of the garment. is true even though the mostdelicateof fabrics are involved. Indeed, this invention provides a Patented an. 12, 1960' ice 2 surface which will .not mark the garment even though the garment is forcibly pulled across the surface.

These and other objects and purposes of this invention will be immediately understood by those acquainted with the design and use of garment hangers, upon reading the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an oblique view of a lateral clamp type hanger to which this invention has been applied;

"Fig. 2 is'an oblique view of another lateral clamp type hanger to which this invention has been applied; Fig, 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the lateral clamp typehanger. of Fig. 2 with a garment suspended therefrom;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view o'fla lateral clamp bar having one embodiment of a garment contacting surfaceof this invention;

Fig. 5 is a'n enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view of alateral clamp barihaving another embodiment of a jolting there is' no tendency for the garment to slip garment contacting surface ,of this invention; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view of a lateral clamp bar having still another embodiment of a garment contacting surface of this invention. In executing the objects and purposes of this invention, I havev created a garment contact surface coating for lateral clamp type garment hangers, which is characterized by a'high coeflicient of friction. This surface comprises alayer of granulates of a flexible, resilient material such as cured rubber. The surface is obtainedjbybonding the granules to the normal garment contact surfaces with a suitable adhesive, such as a clear or"i'elatively clear latex material.

Referring specifically to the drawings, it will be observed that Figifl illustrates a lateral clamp type of garment hanger in open position, which has a spring wire loop'40 forming a pair of legs 41, and a lateral clamp bar or arm 42 secured to the end of each of said legs. Engaging the wire loop is a locking loop 43 which, when the bars'42 are pushed together, can be slid over thele'gs 41 towards" the bars 42. The spring bias of the wire hanger 40, however, normally keeps the bars 42 separated.

' 1 On theinner or garment contact ng surface of -at least oneo'f the lateral clamp'ba'r's 42 and preferably of both lateral clamp bars 42 is a coating 22. This coating may cover the entire garment contacting surface of one or both of the lateral clamp bars'42. For most uses, however, this is not necessary and, as shown in Fig. 1, the coating 22 appears on a portion of the garment contacting' surface adjacent each end of both of the bars 42. Th'e coating 22 comprises a plurality of small, flex ibl'e,re'silient granules 21 bonded by a solidified film of adhesive 20' to the lateral clamp bar 42. It will be objserved, especially with reference to Figs. 4-6, that the granules'21 of the coating provide a plurality of small, resiliehhfiexible fingers. When the locking loop 43 is moved towards the bars 42 to close the 'legs 41 and therebylaterallyclamp the bars 42 against a garment in' betwcen, the coating 22 on the garment contacting surfacesof the lateral bars 42 provides a secure grip on the garment. This=positively prevents the garment from slipping out of this type of'hanger. This eliminates a frequently experienced deficiency in this type of hanger particularly where the garment is thin and the spring bias of the hanger is insufiicient to exert sufiicient lateral clamping pressure on it.

Figs. 2-3 illustrate the application of this invention to another conventional form of lateral clamp type hanger. In this embodiment the hanger comprises a pair of oppositely disposed, lateral clamping bars 52. Each of the bars 52 is secured to the legs 51 of a spring wire; clamping assembly 50. Associated with the assembly 50 is a movable wire hanger arm or hook'member 53 which causes the clamp bars 52 to come together and which positively locks the clamping assembly under spring bias when moved into position for hanging (Fig. 3). While the clamping assembly 50 is in locked position, the bias of the spring wire causes the lateral clamp bars 52 to exert maximum compressive forces on a garment in between. Moving the hanger arm 53 out of position for hanging (Fig. 2) releases the spring wire bias and a spring clip 54 of the assembly 50 functions to spread apart the lateral bars 52.

I It will be observed that the lateral clamp type hanger of Figs. 23 has been provided, although not necessarily so, with lateral felt pads 55 at the garment contacting surfaces of the lateral clamp bars 52. The pads 55 are adhered to the lateral clamp bars52 by a la'yer'of adhesive 56. This conventional structure, however, has been improved in accordance with this invention by the addition to each felt pad 55 of a coating 22. This coating 22 as shown in Fig. 4 comprises a plurality of small, resilient, flexible granules 21 in adherence with a solidified film of adhesive 20. As in-the embodiment of Figs. 2-3, the granules 21 project outwardly and form thereby a plurality of small, flexible, resilient fingers. These fingers contribute a high coeflicient of friction to the coating 22. p

For the film of adhesive 20, a material must be selected which is capable of forming a firm, high strength bond with both the lateral clamp bars '42 and 52 or felt pad 55 and the granules 21. In this regard it should be noted that the lateral clamp bars 42 and 52 in both Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 can be fabricated from wood (as shown in Figs. 46) or from plastic or, from metal or from synthetic materials having a cellulosic or ligneous base, such as paper board. In practice, the rubber based adhesives have been found particularly suitable, such as those commonly known as the rubber base cements. These include both those made wholly or partially from. natural rubber or from synthetic rubber and include the butadiene base compounds and butadiene-styrene base materials. These adhesives per se have a high coeflicient of friction and are characterized by being flexible and resilient. Certain of the more recently introduced urethane adhesives are suitable for this purpose. high molecular weight vinyl materials may be used as the bonding agent. 7 I i The adhesive should be liquid at the time of application and readily solidfied as by drying or by curing. It is important that the bonding agent or adhesive be one which, when it is solidified, will neither rub off on the fabric of the garment or leave a mark on the garment either by reason of its inherent characteristics or by reason of any extenders, stabilizers or bulking agents incorporated into it for such purposes as controlling its viscosity. The adhesive 20 must maintain its adhesion to a high degree through a wide range of normal operating temperatures such as from -10 F. to about 150 F. Within the upper portion of this temperature range, it must have no tendency to soften or jell and adhere to garments, This is most important to avoid marking of the garments. It must also retain sufficient strength so that the granules 21 remain firmly bonded at these higher temperatures even though they are subjected to substantial pull by the garments. The particles or granules 21 must be of a material characterized by resilience throughout the expected operating temperature range. They must also be flexible. Preferably, the particles should be of a material which is either light-colored or transparent whereby the appearance of the hanger will not be impaired; preferably, materials should be selected which do not contain any substantial portion of carbon black or other pigments of undesirable color. The granules 21 must be of a material which will not mark the fabric of the garments even'though the garments are dragged over them and small portions of the granules become Under certain circumstances,

detached and cling to the garments. Further, such portions of the granules as do cling must adhere lightly so that a simple brushing removes them.

It has been found that light-colored or clear, flexible granules of soft, cured rubber are particularly desirable for this purpose. The particles of rubber removed from certain types of cured rubber rolls in grinding them to size have been found to be a particularly suitable material. This material is a waste product, and, therefore, substantially inexpensive. Generally speaking, it is preferred that the granules 21 be in the size range of about 200 to 300 mesh, U.S. standard screen size. Larger and smaller size particles can be used within the broader aspects of this invention. At least, each granule should have an outside effective diameter substantially larger than the thickness of film 20.

The coating 22 may be prepared by at least two methods.

In one method a film of the adhesive 20 in liquidform is first' applied to the desired areas of the lateral clamp bars ,by brushing, dipping, spraying or other suitable ways. As illustrated in Figs. 1-2, portions of the lateral clamp bars 42 and 52 are not coated. Coating of these uncoated portions may be avoided either by selection of the area when brushing is employed or by protecting these areas when the film is applied by faster methods, such as by dipping or spraying. While the adhesive film 20 is still liquid or in the initial stages of becoming tacky, the finely divided granules 21 are imbedded therein. This may be done by rolling or tumbling the'lateral clamp bar with a supply of the granules or by sprinkling or spraying them over the film surface. The adhesive qualities of the film 20 will cause sufficient quantities of particles 21 to adhere to form an adequate coat 22 for the purposes of this invention. The adhesive is then solidified by means suitable for the particular type of adhesive employed and for the equipment available for this purpose. It may be done by simply allowing the adhesive to cure or dry at room temperature or at moderately elevated tempera- .tures. The coating 22 thus obtained will appear in cross section as in Fig. 6'with the granules 21 firmly bonded to the film of adhesive 20 and forming flexible, resilient .fingers projecting from the surface of the film.

In another method the finely divided granules 21 are applied to the garment contacting surfaces of the lateral clamp bars (the hanger not yet being asesmbled) by passing the clamp bars, preferably on an incline, under a falling curtain of granules 21, and simultaneously directing a spray of the liquid adhesive 20 through the curtain in a region near the clamp bars and towards the garment contacting surfaces. When the adhesive solidifies, the coating 22 will appear on close inspection substantially as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 with a thin film of adhesive 20a surrounding each granule 21 and joined to the underlying' film of adhesive 20.

In this embodiment (Figs. 4 and 5') it is preferred that the adhesive 20 on solidifying be resilient and flexible, and by itself have a high coefficient of friction. The presence of the granules'projecting from the plane of the garrnent contacting surface and forming thereby flexible, resilient fingers greatly enhances the coeflicient of friction of the film of adhesive 20.

While Figs. 2-4 illustrate a lateral clamp bar type of garment hanger having felt pads 55, it will be realized that such pads may be eliminated under the teaching of this invention and the coating 22' applied formed directly on the garment contacting surfaces of the lateral clamp bars 52. Figs. 2-4 do show, however, how existing lateral clamp bar garment hangers with felt pads can be improved in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

Moreover, while the spraying method of forming the coating 22 can be used in conjunction with the felt pads 55 as shown in Fig. 4, it should be noted that the method employed to form the coating 22 of Fig. 6 can also be employed to form the coating 22 on the felt pads 55. The spraying method is'preferred in this case, however, because of the ease of application.

The coating 22 of this invention has an exceptionally vhigh coefficient of friction, particularly when in contact with fabrics of the type used in clothing. It is elfective to grip and hold not only the coarser weaves of cloth having an inherently higher frictional surface, such as wool, tweeds and the like but also such slippery materials as tightly-woven nylon, silk, Dacron acrylic resin fibers and Orlon polyester fibers.

It will be recognized that this invention corrects one of the long-recognized deficiencies of lateral clamp type garment hangers. The tendency of garments to slide from their hangers has always been a major source of irritation to users. Despite the efiective grip afforded by this invention, it can not mark or otherwise damage garments. It will not cause wear because it is inherently free of any abrasive qualities. It utilizes the principle of a high friction surface without necessitating the use of materials which are tacky or semi-adhesive. It eliminates the necessity for piercing or tightly clamping the garments to assure their retention on hangers. Consequently, it has materially improved garment hangers and widened their utility.

While I have described my invention and various applications of it, it will be understood that modifications of this invention may be made. Such of these modifications as incorporate the principles of the invention are to be considered as included in the hereinafterappended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. In a garment hanger comprising: a spring wire clamping assembly with hanger hook means, a pair of laterally movable leg means on each side and means for locking said leg means into garment holding position; and a pair of oppositely disposed, laterally movable, lateral clamp bars, each lateral clamp bar being secured to a corresponding pair of said leg means and having on the side thereof facing the other lateral clamp bar a garment contacting surface; the improvement comprising:' a layer of pliable, cured rubber-like granules covering a substantial portion of said garment contacting surface of at least one of said lateral clamp bars and adhered to said surface by an adhesive, said granules projecting from said surface and providing a plurality of small, resilient, flexible fingers projecting from said surface and having fabric contacting surfaces characterized by a high coeflicient of friction.

2. In a garment hanger comprising: a spring wire clamping assembly with hanger hook means, a pair of laterally movable leg means on each side and means for locking said leg means into garment holding position; and a pair of oppositely disposed, laterally movable, lateral clamp bars, each lateral clamp bar being secured to a corresponding pair of said leg means and having on the side thereof facing the other lateral clamp bar a garment contacting surface; the improvement comprising: a layer of pliable, cured rubber-like granules covering a substantial portion of said garment contacting surface of both of said lateral clamp bars and adhered to said surface by an adhesive, said granules projecting from said surface and providing a plurality of small, resilient, flexible fingers projecting from said surface and having fabric contacting surfaces characterized by a high coefiicient of friction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,084,784 Stahl June 22, 1937 2,212,978 Deknatel Aug. 27, 1940 2,590,738 Tufts Mar. 22, 1952 2,698,250 Leichner Dec. 28, 1954 2,752,256 Hargis June 26, 1956 

